CHÂTEAU TROPLONG MONDOT
2015 Grand Cru Classé Saint Emilion
90% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc, 15.5% Alc. Picked late, between the 30th September and the 21st October. Inky dark with fine purple edge. Smells and tastes of overripeness, but there's enough real sweetness too, so that it is round and easy, and still finishes well with the sweetness rounding out the tannin buildup and making it all succulent. It's a funny one - a bit of a caricature, but somehow pulls it off. The score very much to be taken with the note - it succeeds in its own terms, so magnifique but it's not really claret. Rating: 92-93 L&S (Apr 2016)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
Expressive, ripe dark plums swathed in aromas of mocha, toasted baking spices, graphite, blackberries and mulberries. The flavor-soaked palate arrives on suave, velvety tannins, delivering flavors of vibrant, concentrated dark plums, mulberries, dark chocolate and cocoa in a youthful, fresh style. Terrific wine with ultra-long finish. An essay in power and elegance. Essence-like. Drinking range: 2020 - Rating: 98 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Feb 2018)
If you’re a fan of big wines in the Pavie mould, this is a much better balanced example of the style. It’s ripe, oaky and a little pruney, with plush tannins, sweet figgy fruit and considerable concentration. Drinking range: 2022 - 2030 Rating: 92 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (May 2016)
Ripe and powerful with an unusual 8% Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend (90% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc). Dark cherry, blueberry and spice notes. Richly concentrated with sturdy but refined tannins. Freshness of the terroir lends balance. Just a touch of grainy oak which has not yet been fully integrated. Drinking range: 2023 - 2040 Rating: 93 James Lawther MW, decanter.com (Apr 2016)
The 2015 Troplong Mondot is inky black in color. The nose was initially arresting with a carapace of toasty new oak, but it only takes several swirls of the glass for that to dissipate and leave scents of intense black fruit, crème de cassis, spice box and violets. It is verging on "heady" in style, powered along by that Merlot. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent ripe tannin, layers of ripe, sensual, lavish black fruit interlaced with black pepper and clove. The acidity binds everything together, maintains control through to the finish that fans out nicely. It leans towards the hedonistic style of Saint Emilion, but it is not pushed over the edge as I have found in previous recent vintages. What it needs to develop is just the charm and personality of the finest Saint Emilion wines this vintage. Drinking range: 2022 - 2045 Rating: 92-94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2016)
A luscious and rich red with blackberry, chocolate and walnut aromas and flavors. Full body, very harmonious and super bright. All about clarity. A majority of merlot with some cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc. Rating: 96-97 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2016)
It has a very rich, roasted character to the nose, with chocolate praline and crushed black plums, perfumed violet notes, and an intense, slightly sooty, smoky, cigar-leaf tinge. The palate is huge, intense, broad, full of pointed black plum character, and a baked black cherry too, toasted almond, grilled fruits, charcoal, caramelised fruits. Piles of energy here, piles of grip too, very substantial, with a massive seam of ripe tannins through the middle and finish. Troplong-Mondot of course has a recent track record for high alcohol, and on enquiring I was told it was 15%, which of course means approximately 15%, it may be a little higher or a little lower. Despite this I don't get any alcoholic heat here, another example of how well these wines carry higher alcohol levels. A polished, broad, sinewy but rich style, very muscular, but loaded with fruit and perfumed violets too. An impressive wine, but it will need time to unfurl. It is a little warm in the finish, but so are many wines in this vintage, and it is not showing any spiky, alcoholic heat. The structural clues are there though. Rating: 17-18/20 Derek Smedley MW, www.dereksmedleymw.co.uk (Apr 2016)
Château Troplong Mondot
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those of the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.
Ordering
Prices are per case as listed 'in bond London'.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment from you to buy the wines you order on release, subject to the price being below the upper price of the estimated band on our website. You may also set your own upper price limit, lower or higher than ours. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability. Providing this firm commitment to us effectively gives you priority.
Wines listed on the website (after any pre-orders and allocations have been fulfilled) can be ordered in the usual way via the website order form or by email or telephone 020 7221 1982, always subject to stock remaining.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date, apart from pre-orders which are binding if the release price is below the top estimate or other price you have set.
Invoices are raised at the In Bond price, excluding any duty and VAT which will become payable at the prevailing rates on arrival of the wine if required duty paid.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or credit transfer. We reserve the right to charge 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1000, orders below this total will be charged £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery for 2016 Bordeaux primeurs will probably be completed by October 2019, but we make no guarantee as to specific delivery times, and some of the Sauternes may be later.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes) for immediate payment. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option, but do please note that confirmed orders are still binding as above even if the final invoice has not been issued.
When the wine is shipped, unless previously specified we will assume that delivery is to be to bonded storage with Elephant Storage, but in any case, we will contact you requesting any alternative instructions. If you have another bonded delivery address you would like the wine to go to, please tell us at the time of ordering. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue invoices at the rates prevailing at the time for the excise duty (currently £25.98 per case) and the VAT (currently at 20%) on the total of the wine cost and the duty.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the bottle size you want. Even if a wine is only listed in one size, you can order any bottle or case size you want if the property supplies it, but you must order the case/bottle size you require and check that the correct size has been invoiced.
Additional charges are as follows:-
- +£15 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£15 per case of 6 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£35 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£45 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.